GRAMMAR BASICS PREPOSITIONS
DEFINITION
Prepositions are words that specify direction, place, time, cause, manner and amount and
usually come just before a noun in a sentence.
DID YOU
KNOW?
The Writing
Center has
weekend and
evening hours
avai lable! Call
or visit our
website for
more
information.
CONTACT US
The Writing
Center
Library 312
P 502.873.4494
EMAIL US
writingcenter@spald
ing.edu
PR EPO SITIO NS OF TIME & PL ACE
AT, ON, AND IN
The preposition “at” is used before time of day or specific addresses.
The preposition “on” is used before days, dates, and names of streets.
The word “in” is used before nonspecific times during the day, month,
season, or year, and before the names of land-areas (e.g. town, states, or
countries).
EXAMPLES
★We will arrive at 12:30pm. ★He leaves on Sunday. ★She quit her job in May. ★I live at 847 S. 3rd Street ★We live on ARC Street. ★I’m in Ottawa, Ontario. PR EPO SITIO NS OF MOVEMEN T
TO, TOWARD, & TOWARDS
The preposition “to” is used to indicate movement to a location.
The preposition “toward(s)” is simply a fancier way of expressing
movement.
EXAMPLES
★I drove to school. PREPOSITION B EFORE THE WORDS HOME, DOWNTOWN, UPTOWN, INSIDE, OUTSIDE, DOWNSTAIRS, UPSTAIRS.
DON’T USE A
★She moved towards her favorite foods. PR EPO
SITIO NS OF TIME
FOR & SINCE
The preposition “for” is used to measure quantities of time (e.g. seconds, minutes, months, years).
The preposition “since” is used before specific days and times.
EXAMPLES
★She worked for 20 minutes. ★She’s been the department chair since June, 5th 1990. OTHER COMMON PREPOSITIONS
aboard
about
above
absent
according to
across
after
against
ahead of
along
along with
alongside
amid
amidst
among
around
as
as far as
as well as
at
atop
before
behind
below
beneath
beside
between
but (meaning except)
by
by means of
despite
down
down from
due to
during
except
far from
following
for
from
in
in addition to
in back of
in case of
in front of
in place of
in spite of
inside
inside of
instead of
in to (into)
like
mid
minus
near
near to
next
next to
notwithstanding
of
off
on
on account of
on behalf of
on top of
on to (onto)
opposite
out of
outside
outside of
owing to
over
past
plus
prior to
regarding
round
save
since
than
through
throughout
till
times
to
toward
under
underneath
until
up
upon
with
with regards to
within
without